Friday Frights Story One Part Three

                                                           Haunted Dares

                                      By Robin Renee Ray

                                             Part Three



Franny woke to the sounds of her own moaning. Pain shot through her stomach like she had been slammed into by a freight train. A pale light crept through the wooden planks on the window giving Fanny a view of a room where she'd not yet been. She gained her focus and sat up using her elbows to hold her upper body up off the floor. Morbid shock took hold when she saw her shirt ripped from the bottom hem to the collar, her stomach smeared in red gore. Franny frantically wiped at the red lines that went from her bellybutton to the bottom of her ribcage.


"Bring them to me." The hiss brushed by her ear.


"Please," she raised her hand to something she couldn't see.


"Bring them to me."


The sound in the tainted air fell silent. Franny rolled to her side and threw up. She got to her feet, the pain now pounding in her head, and made her way out onto the landing at the top of the staircase. Confusion of how she ended up where she was gripped her emotion like a tight fist and she cried all the way down into the living room where she found her belongings strewn about the whole area. The candles were nothing more than a melted blob stuck to the floor. Her blanket hung from the light fixture in the middle of the ceiling and pages from her book coated the already debris-covered floor. She left it all but the overnight bag and her jacket and walked to the front door.


"Please open," she whispered as she turned the knob.


It opened and she stepped out into the coming dawn. Franny put on her jacket and started down the steps as her friends came driving up the road. She closed her torn shirt, taking on a different composure the moment they turned into the overgrown driveway. Ricky was the first to get out, with Cindy close behind. "I told she would stay all night," Cindy said running up to her. "He stayed up all night waiting for you to call."


"Bullshit, I did not," Ricky pouted. "Maybe I stayed up because I was worried?"


"You are so full of it, Ricky. You were hoping she wouldn't do it so you wouldn't have to…but guess what?"


"It was fun," Franny said with a full smile adorning her face. "I think we should all stay tonight. You'll never forget it."


"What happened to your shirt?" Cindy grabbed her jacket sleeve and turned Franny for a better look.


"I told you I should have brought extra clothes. It got caught on a nail," Franny lied.


"Greg and Butch won't come, they're going to Beverly's party. Hell, I'd be going to if we didn't have this stupid bet," Ricky complained, looking back at the old McGregor home.


"You two should work," Franny added as she got into the car.


"Do what?" Cindy asked getting in behind her.


"Oh, nothing, I just need a good bath. I can't wait to come back, you'll really like this place."


Ricky picked up Franny and Cindy at six thirty that night. They had slept through the day—all but Franny who sat on her bed staring out into space. She didn't answer her dorm room phone until Ricky called, as if she knew who was on the other end. Cindy rummaged through her bag while Ricky drove in silence, something he never did. She pulled out a recorder, elbowing Franny and nodding her head toward Ricky. Franny looked down at it, then half smiled, turning to look back out the window, watching as the top of the old two story came into view.


"If either one of you try anything stupid, I will leave you out here," Ricky said as he pulled into the drive and right up to the front steps.


"Need a quick getaway?" Cindy asked, then burst out laughing.


The three got out, Ricky and Cindy with their bags in their hands. Franny stood looking up at the second floor. Ricky bumped her, handing her the same overnight bag she'd had the night before. She took it and was the first to walk up the steps. The door opened with ease. Franny couldn't control the laughter when she saw all the candles whole again, sitting by her blanket with her History book lying closed on it with all of it's pages intact.


"What's so funny? This place is uber freaky," Cindy asked, putting her bag down by the blanket.


"Nothing, I was just wondering where I left my book." The glint in her eyes gave Cindy the chills. "Thought I left it up there." She turned in the oval shaped entrance to the living room and pointed at the staircase.


"You went up there?" Ricky stuttered.


"That's where I woke up this morning," Franny scratched her stomach.


Three hours later, the three were gathered around the light of the candles, which had just hours before been melted down to nothing but a blob of wax on the floor. Just like the night before, something moved on the floor above their heads.


"What the fuck was that?" Ricky grabbed his bag and pulled out a flashlight and a small handgun. He then stood and started walking toward the foyer.


"That won't do you any good," Franny said, doubling over and clutching her stomach.


"Franny, what's wrong?" Cindy got to her knees beside her.


A guttural cry escaped as a black fog flew from Franny's mouth, past Cindy and right at Ricky who was turning to see what was happening. The black fog dissipated as the gun went flying across the room and Ricky's feet came off the floor. His mouth opened in a silent scream; his lips pressed back against his teeth. His arms swung wildly as he tried to free himself from the invisible mass that was covering his face and crushing his throat.


The girls looked up and both screamed, Franny wondering how Cindy and Ricky ended up in the house with her. She wiped the black gore from her lips and grabbed Cindy's arm. Ricky began making gurgling sounds as a red fluid flowed from his mouth, nose and eyes, into something that was taking on a form of its own, coming to life with Ricky's substance.






To be continued next Friday….